by Jeff Benjamin
Jeff Benjamin with Jordan Hasay, September 16, 2017, photo by PhotoRun.net
Jordan Hasay is running the RNR Philly Half marathon tomorrow. This interview, by Jeff Benjamin, was done on Saturday, September 16, 2017. Jordan Hasay, along with team mate Galen Rupp, will run Chicago Marathon in three weeks!
Tomorrow morning Jordan Hasay will be at the starting line of the Philly Rock n’ Roll Marathon. This race will be gearing up (along with NOP teammate Galen Rupp) for the Chicago Marathon in about a month.
Like part 1, this piece looks at how Hasay has faced down her nerves which all runners of all ages have on the starting line of every race.
Hasay’s foray into running began in 4th grade. “I didn’t know anything,” said Hasay, as she prepared to race against kids a few years older than her. “I was running against 7th and 8th graders, but I was having fun,” she said, noting that she wore her hair out in those early days!
In that first race (“It was a dual meet on a dirt track!”) Hasay won.
But the nerves would come later. Hasay remembers a 7th grade race where a girl showed up who beat her in a 5th grade race. “My mom and I both started to cry because she showed up!”, said Hasay. “She was tough and had a big kick.” The result? “I outkicked her and won!”
Hasay’s high school years brought more pressures. “I was so scared at starting lines,” she said. But Hasay had begun to hone her mental approach. “That moment just before firing the gun makes everyone nervous, but I learned to train my mind to learn to love that moment.”
Even at the Elite level, “You have to learn to train your mind and just relax and don’t tense up.” Along with help from coaches Alberto Salazar, Pete Julian and her NOP teammates came more wisdom for Hasay, who also found comfort from outside the Sport. “I’m a big Adele fan,” said Hasay. “She’s always posting before a concert how nervous and scared she is and how she’d like to run out of the door but then she goes on stage and she flows and puts on a great show…I’ve learned from that the idea that if you do have nerves it means you care.”
Hasay’s approach is to “Fake your mind and when the gun goes off you get into that flow…when I’m warming up, I’m faking my mind with positive thoughts and prepping what I’m thinking.”
“Then it just flows over!”
